Maybe it's May
by Kensalyn
Summary: May might seem to be like any other Chaotic player, but her past is one big mystery that she would rather keep out of her life. When things get crazy, can she save Maxxor from it, without it catching up to her?
1. Chapter 1: Not Quite the Beginning

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_Ready, everyone? Brief intro for the main character, then we dive right into the action! Hold onto your bonnets, this might get a little bumpy!_

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**Chapter 1: Not Quite the Beginning**

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The young woman had long hair that gleamed several shades between red and dark brown in the sunlight. Her eyes were dark amber with gold just trimming her pupil, though one eye also sported a green stripe as though in rebellion. She was not the average age of most players; usually the human Chaotic players were tweens, and she was in her twenties. However, everything else a person could see about her was average. Average height, average build, average everything that could be judged in a glance. But a person who took only a moment longer would notice; there was something about her that was decidedly... unaverage. Special. Different.

Of course, at the moment that quality could be attributed to her predicament.

She yelped involuntarily and leapt away from the wall as an attack went whizzing over her head, far above the lip of the hole she was trapped in. Among the sounds of battle and voices, she heard a crack of stone as whatever the attack had been slammed into a rock wall. Then, to top off her list of bad sounds, she heard rumbling, and recognized the sound of a boulder slowly beginning to fall from it's place.

How in the heck did she get herself into these situations?

Her hands dug again into the side of the wall, attempting to escape the pit even more desperately now. With her luck that boulder was headed right for her, and the green  
creature who had promised to assist her as she journeyed was a little preoccupied fighting off a would-be captor at the moment. In fact, the pit she'd fallen into had been meant for him, and would have worked had she not been running ahead of him at that moment, teasing him. This was be the second time she'd stopped him from falling into a trap in almost as many days, she realized.

The side of the hole was too smooth to find any purchase; this was a trap meant for a creature, far too deep and slick for a human to have any hope of escaping from. Circumstances were not made better by the fact that huge vines covering the pit floor had clasped onto her ankles, slowly squeezing and weaving their way up her legs.  
The part of the situation that truly made it difficult, however, was the pair of cuffs she wore. Each time she felt a rush of adrenaline that could possibly push her to climb a few inches or tear a vine, they sensed it and reacted, draining the energy from her body like a sponge and leaving her feeling weaker than before. They grew hot as they fueled themselves and now they burned against her skin from all the energy.

As the rumbling grew louder she knew that the rock had to be heading for her. _"Well, typical,"_ she thought, fear forcing more adrenaline through her body as the cuffs grew hotter. Suddenly forgetting (or perhaps no longer caring about) the risk of distracting him in battle, she finally cried out to her temporary travelling companion.

"Maxxor! There's a boulder!!" she yelled, the panic evident in her voice. Seconds later vines dashed across the opening, and sure enough the rolling boulder inched into view, temporarily ceased by the thin obstructions. She heard Maxxor's battle cry as he turned back to his opponent to give what sounded like a very painful lesson, called "This is Why You Never Try to Ambush the Leader of the Overworld". Once again she marveled at her luck of running into him, when he was on his way back from a mission that had more to do with her than he might have ever guessed.

She heard the voice that had been unceasingly throwing taunts turn into a yelp of pain, and the string of words ended. For a few seconds she heard nothing but the ominous creaking of vines overhead. She looked helplessly, waiting for any other noise. It had sounded like Maxxor won... so where was he? Another moment of excruciating silence passed, and one vine weakened... and snapped.

There was a blur of red against green as Maxxor appeared, grasping the huge rock tightly and slowly pulling it away from the pit it seemed so desperate to fall into. The girl looked up at him, face still set with panic. Then a smile broke through. She gave a nervous laugh. He flashed a crooked smile down at her.

"Close enough for you, May?" he asked once the boulder was safely moved. He bent and riped the vines out of the way, preparing a fireball in his hand to burn the creeping vines at the bottom so he could come down and help her out.

"Impressive use of suspense, yeah... but you could make it a little less close, next time," she sighed, tired relief filling her eyes. "Man... for a minute there, I really thought--"

The happy moment was ruined by the loud crack-hiss of something being shot, and Maxxor grimaced as a yell leapt shortly from his throat. His body went rigid, as though whatever it was had stung, but his face showed a stronger feeling; anger. Frustration at himself. This was the third time he had let his guard down in this forest, a place that held many caves leading to the Underworld. The reason May had asked for his help was mostly that fact; she was afraid that Chaor would send someone after her. Why, Maxxor wasn't quite sure, but he knew it had something to do with the cuffs she wore and how she promised Maxxor he could have them once she got them off, claiming they could negate the powers of Creatures. It sounded like the very battle gear Maxxor had been out to find, and considering the mess she'd just gotten him out of, he had readily agreed. Each time he'd been caught offguard on their journey, she'd prevented that uncharacteristic mistake from harming him. But she couldn't this time.

_"Three strikes and you're out,"_ he thought to himself, recalling the phrase he'd heard Chaotic players say to each other. Then he fell forward into the pit.

"MAXXOR!!" May cried in shock, struggling against the vines as some weaved their way around the unconscious Overworlder. She couldn't move even remotely close to him. Not that she could have helped anyway.

A shadow fell on her from ground-level, and she froze as she turned around to look at who cast it. It was hard to see... but it looked like a Danian. Hadn't she heard a more Mipedian-like voice before? This couldn't be the same creature Maxxor had been fighting. This was another companion, another partner-in-crime that had cowardly shot a legendary fighter from behind.

"A human?" the shadow-caster finally sputtered. She was right; definitely a different voice. "Maxxor let himself get careless for... a human??"

"I wouldn't judge," she heard herself replying. "You're the one who shot him in the back after someone else wore him out. Careful. You're really close to provoking some bad karma there." She had no idea what her mouth was doing, but it felt good to say something that made this feel less out of her control.

The Danian was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "Troipen's gonna love you," he said, as though it were already planned out that he, May, and "Troipen" were all going out for a lovely stroll in the park, in which they would exchange names and backgrounds and little stories of funny things that had happened to them in their childhood. He raised the weapon in his hand, aiming it steadily at her. She had plenty of time in his relaxed movements to decide she couldn't run; she would just shut her eyes and hope the cuffs didn't magnify it too much. "Well," she thought, "I guess I can't count falling into a pit that was meant for Maxxor as saving him after all." The last thing she heard before she met the blank place in her mind was the crack-hiss of the stun staff firing.

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_There it is, my first ever fanfic chapter! __Anybody lost yet? Hopefully not. I'm not sure if _I'm _____________________lost... Was it a right turn or a left at the De-Energy cuffs?_

___________________I tried to keep the first chapter kinda short, but I promise the next will be longer and will come soon!_

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_Theories, reviews, anybody got some? Who the heck is this May girl? Why is she afraid of Chaor being after her? How in the world did she get into those cuffs if they're meant for creatures? Where did the cuffs come from, and what connection does May have to them? And who are these creatures that have captured her and Maxxor??_

_One of these questions will be answered next chapter! The rest... well, I'll try to make them more tantalizingly unanswered, most likely. Sorry. But, deep down you know you love the mystery and suspense-ness. So you're welcome, deep-down-selves. The next one goes out to you._


	2. Chapter 2: The Mercs

_Here's chapter 2! Our characters get more fleshed out, we meet new creatures, and all that good stuff! I just ate a box of cookies, and a yogurt... My stomach is making sounds like a dragon roaring whenever I yawn!_

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**Chapter 2: The Mercs**

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May woke with the sudden feeling she was falling. Her eyes opened and she gasped, realizing her feet in fact weren't grounded to anything. She panicked and looked around her. She'd been unconscious, so why was she now in the air, perpendicular to the ground? Then the memories came flooding back; the pit, the fight, Maxxor getting shot...

She looked around her more, and at last spotted Maxxor. He was restrained like her, dangling from a chain. His feet were chained to each other heavily, which didn't surprise her. To keep him captive they'd need more than just a loop or two of metal. What did surprise her, however, was what connected his hands to the chain.

Cuffs, just like hers.

She'd gotten her cuffs from a mishap with Chaor himself, who was sure he had the only three in existence. She ignored that memory; she had already berated herself enough about it and didn't want to think about it anymore. But if that was right, and you could only get the others in the Underworld... Danians, Mipedians, and now Underworlders? Had all three of the tribes grouped together? The idea was ludicrous. But the second idea that came to her mind seemed just as unlikely. It was almost an urban legend, and a much more frightening course could follow it. She almost rathered her first thought was right.

"Oy!"

The young woman started, turning her widened eyes sharply in the direction of the voice. A Mipedian suddenly appeared in front of her, and she barked out a "Whoa!" before he ignored her and yelled again.

"Oy, Hurn! The tiny one's awake!" They locked eyes for a moment, May staring at him as defiantly as she could, and he staring back with not much more than curiosity and superiority. He looked a little worn for the worse; bruises marred the softer parts of him that were not as thick with scales, and a number of cuts could be seen as well. An old scar also lined his forehead, and the more he stared the more she wanted to give him a broken snout to match everything else.

The Danian lumbered into view, coming from behind where the human was faced. "So she is." She recognized the speaker as the one who had shot her. That must mean this Mipedian had been the one fighting Maxxor.

"What exactly are we suppoesed to do with her now? Stun her again?" the Mipedian said, one eyebrow rasied.

"Well," Hurn huffed thoughtfully, "maybe we should feed her."

The lizard-face squinted his eyes and leaned in close as though he could smell the answer on her, then grunted, still unsure. "I don't think Xheic wants her that comfortable. I say we just stun her! That way guarding her is less of a hassle and we can eat while we do it."

The human girl uncurled one of her fists, as close to raising her hand as she could get. "Do I get a vote? Cause I'm gonna say... maybe you just let me down? Y'know, take me to see "Xheic" or whoever myself? We could all just sit and chat for a bit. I'll tell you my story, and you could tell me the backstory behind whatever this is, and we could all laugh it off and go our seperate ways."

The Mipedian raised his eyebrows, a smile creeping onto his face. "Your story, eh? Would we get to find out how you got a pair of those De-Energy cuffs?"

May's heart raced, and the heat from the cuffs was just enough to warm her hands in the cold night. They knew what the extremely rare battle gear was called? Then they hadn't gotten them from Chaor; even he hadn't learned their name. Did that mean...

She cleared her throat. "I'd make up a pretty good story."

The Mipedian chuckled and May got a good whiff of his breath. She tried not to gag; it smelled like an old man had woken up with a bad case of morning breath after having fallen asleep for two weeks with tuna and garlic in his teeth. "Thought so! Hey, entertainment's the best use I see for you anyway."

"Then...ugh... why not just let me go?"

The Mipedian snorted out a mouthful of laughter. "Xheic figured if Maxxor was so adamant about saving you, you could probably come in handy. You're the whimpering bundle that we threaten to kill whenever he gets out of line."

May raised her eyebrows. Would Maxxor really fall for that? He wouldn't allow them to hold the Overworld leader captive without a fight, just because they had some human that helped him not die a few days ago, right? That had to be right! Right?

But, all things considered... she kinda hoped it was wrong.

"Oh. Well, not that it's not a good idea, but there's a little problem. I don't really whimper. So, why don't you just knock me out again and go enjoy whatever delicious delicacy it is that gives you such overwhelmingly toxic breath." Her mouth was getting away with itself again.

Hurn chuckled, the sound seeming to come from deep within his husky form. "Told ya you'd like her."

Troipen's eyes glistened as though he couldn't decide whether he was pleased at the abrasive hilarity of the human's attitude or furious at her. "Almost as much as she likes the smell of that slop we eat out here. Don't let her hear what we make it from though, she might get a bit upset!"

"Aw, Troipen, don' make us out to be monsters."

"Oh no, I'd better not let the little devil think we're monsters. Wouldn't that be terrible!"

Hurn frowned. "I don' like bein' given such a bad name, is all."

May let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, you don't want me ruining my good image of you. What with the knocking me out, kidnapping me, chaining me up, and threatening to kill me, and all that fun stu-- aah." May cringed back, feeling fear attack the pit of her stomach. She had just felt a leg touch her arm. A hairy, stiff, thin leg with a small grasper on the end which scratched her skin. If there was one thing that could make her freeze up, it was the thought of a spider near her. Much less crawling on her.

" 'Lo there, Shathra," Troipen said, grinning from ear to ear at the human girl's response to his colleague's surprise entrance.

"You didn't wake me on time for my shift, Troipen." She leapt down, all eight of her legs letting her land without a sound. She looked like a cross between a cenataur and a spider, her legs long and rough and her head and arms rising slowly from the rest of her body. However, she seemed to be only about three feet tall.

_"Three feet too many,"_ May thought.

"It's only maybe a minute after. We were just having a little conversation," Troipen pouted.

"I know." Shathra's answer gave the impression that not only had she heard, she knew all too well about what having just a 'little conversation' with Troipen could be.

Troipen ignored her tone, seeming used to it. "You're nocturnal. Why would I need to wake you for your shift anyway?"

"I have in fact been attempting to catch sleep in the early and late hours of the night, to make up for the exessive hours I have been awake in the day for this job."

This job? May's heart fell, the words pulling her out of her frozen state despite the fact that a three-foot spider was crawling around her feet. This was a job they'd taken. Then her second theory of who they might be was right: These were the Outcast Mercenaries. They had in their band a banished member from each tribe, and not much was known about them. They usually operated in secret, of course, as their employers could be heavily punished for making the kind of bargains they made. All that was known about them was that they officially resided in No Man's Land, and that they were rarely there.

"Right," Troipen rolled his eyes. "Well, we're almost done with this mission, so you can stop complaining about it."

"Wrong. The longest part of the journey is the trip back." Shathra looked unhappily towards a mountain in the distance as though willing it to melt out of her way.

"Maybe for you it is. For me, the longest part of this "journey" was holding off Maxxor until the slowest creature in all of Perim showed up with the stun staff. I'm gonna be sore and limping for months."

Hurn gave a harrumph. "You're the one who decided to run into the fight without me."

They started arguing, their hushed tones growing louder and louder. Shathra cut them off with an angry noise that was a mix of hissing and clicking. "Are you two so anxious to try and wake Maxxor? Trully. You have no real sense of stealth." Troipen looked very offended at that. "Go to your beds; it is my shift, so I will watch the human while the two of you go off and snore."

"I don't snore!" Troipen and Hurn answered heatedly at the same time, then looked surprised at each other. "Yes you do!" They pointed to the other, then looked shocked again. "No I don't!"

"Just GO!" Shathra erupted, then hissed, "Go on, leave me in peace!" The two glared angrily at each other and then left, presumably to find their beds, or perhaps a snack.

Shathra settled in and stared at the human for a long time. May tried to stay as still as possible, but there was absolutely no way she was going to fall asleep with a three-foot spider curled up a little ways from her feet, like a bad mockery of a puppy waiting at the foot of a bed. Shathra seemed to grow weary of the same game, the snoring from both Troipen and Hurn audible in the background now.

"Go to sleep, human. You do sleep at night?"

May struggled to find her voice, and when she at last did it was very small. "I just-- I don't-- I can't sleep. I only sleep a few hours. I'm not tired." Wait... did she just say that? Why did she say that?! That was a secret! One of the things that made her so obviously different from everyone else. And she had just blurted it out loud!

Stupid arachnophobia, making her do dumb things. Like be more scared of a creature that's three feet tall than one that could crush her with one fist.

Luckily Shathra didn't seem to care about the strangeness of the comment. "Ah." The spider-cenataur analyzed the situation. "Then I have a quick solution." The creature jumped up, literally, in the direction of May. She held back a yelp and cringed as Shathra landed on the chain above her, two of her feet on May's arms. She scuttled down just a little and-

May felt a wave of panic go through her and the de-energy cuffs started to burn. Shathra had just bit her. She bit her, right on the arm, injected her poison into her bloodstream. May shook her head in quick jerky movements as the blood drained from her face. "Ooooh crap. Oh no oh no--"

"You have nothing to fear, human; that is only a small amount of my venom. You will awaken after the sunrise." But May's blood was already pumping like crazy, and the venom was working it way through her body rather quickly. Her tounge felt like fuzzy lead, and soon her head might have been a bowling ball balanced on a toothpick for all the control she had over it. Shathra was saying something else, but for all the attention May paid, she might as well have been telling her about the weather in Russia. Soon the entire world seemed to take on a fuzzy, lead-like feeling... then everything was gone.

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_Hmm... does anyone else notice a pattern of May being unconscious at the end of every chapter? With how often she's knocked out, no wonder she doesn't need much sleep. Jeez._

_So, these are the Outcast Mercenaries! Sounds like we only have one left to meet, this "Xheic" dude. Also, it seems that there is another place to get the cuffs, and if May knows more about them than Chaor, does she know where they came from?_

_...I just know, moments after I post this, I'm gonna look at it again and see something I want to change._


	3. Chapter 3: The Dragon

_Another chapter, heading out the door and into the great big world... *sniff*... I'm SO PROUD..._

_Heh, actually, I'm kinda hesitant about this one. It still feels very rough to me, maybe that's cause a lot of it is filler. So, yeah, I'm kinda kicking it out the door. It's stubborn enough that I know it'll be able to take care of itself out there. Sorry if it doesn't make sense!_

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**Chapter 3: The Dragon**

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It was morning. That was the first conscious realization May had. The second was that she was no longer hanging from a chain, instead draped over a thick shoulder. Then she heard voices.

"...You said that if they were to wake up, we were to "encourage" them to get their rest." That was Shathra. May stiffened at her voice, and the being carrying her froze, noticing she was awake. He tried to bring it to the attention of the others.

"Um, Xheic..." That was Hurn, but a voice she hadn't heard before (she assumed it must be 'Xheic') ignored him, obviously too wrapped up in the matter at hand.

"I told you to give them a little encouragement. Tell me, Shathra... do you call a bite this deep a little encouragement!?" The voice was deep and rich, and May immediately felt herself cringe from his words, even though they weren't directed at her. It carried an authority that reminded her of Maxxor, but something darker as well, as though this creature had faced demons and learned their worst secrets.

Then she remembered what he'd said. _"This deep?" _May looked at her arm. The punctures had become little red welts and were barely distinguishable as teeth marks. How could they be saying they were-

Her mouth formed an "O" in realization. They'd been talking about "them", not "she".

She suddenly jerked to life, startling Hurn enough that she was able to scramble off his shoulder and to the ground. Everyone reacted with surprise, but she spotted Maxxor before any of them could grab her and ran over to where he lay. "Maxxor?!" she cried, talking fast, "Maxxor wake up! Oh c'mon, wake up, you've gotta just be unconsci--"

A fist grabbed her by the cuffs and lifted her into the air, her legs flailing out as she struggled to be loose. "Hmm..." It was the deep voice that she had assumed belonged to Xheic. "Well, at least this one's awake. Let's hope Maxxor sees value in protecting it... when he finally wakes up." May hated Xheic immediately, and though the sound of his voice still caused a strange fear in her, an angry stream poured from her mouth to prove what she thought of him and the situation in general.

"Oh yeah?! Well, you're trash too, you stinking pile of--" May gasped back her words as she was turned around to face her captor at his eye level. The creature who held her looked like a slightly humanoid dragon with no wings, his scales dark blue and lined with a brown that colored his horns. His eyes were an electric yellow, making them stand out frighteningly. A glance toward the ground told her that his eye level was around fifteen feet up.

"Pile of what?"

She gulped, but her mouth replied, "I was gonna say 'sewer rejections', but now I should probably change that to something that indicates 'freakishly tall'."

"So clever," the dragon snarled. "I'm almost tempted to give you a warning burn, to help you remember who decides how long you live." He pulled back his fist back as though to throw something at her. And a small ball of flames appeared in it.

"Uhm... heh... I dunno... it looks like a pretty harsh punishment. Just for telling the truth. Maybe you could save it for later, like when I try to tick you off?" Why was her mouth still running?

He growled. "Or, you could use a few burns now to remind you to pay respect when that urge might come." He gave a grin that wasn't friendly at all, and pulled his arm back a bit farther.

Suddenly the giant was tumbling to the ground, something having knocked his legs out from under him. He landed awkwardly, his face near Maxxor's.

Who was now awake. And quite unhappy.

"You--will--not--harm--her." Each word burned in his eyes as he attempted to sit up, the process made difficult by the chains.

May sighed, an nervous laugh escaping. She had a slight case of whip lash, but didn't care at the moment. "Oh, good. You scared the heck outta me, I thought... You've got pretty good timing, you know th--?"

Xheic placed his finger over May's mouth, obviously pretending she hadn't spoken at all. "So the human was worth the effort after all. Good." He gave that smile again, as he stood at a distance that wouldn't allow Maxxor to reach him a second time. "Then I'll lay out the rules first thing. You, Maxxor, are captive to us. This," he indicated the human he held, "receives the punishment that you would otherwise by disobeying me. The less you try to pull, the less she suffers. Is that clear enough?"

Maxxor locked his gaze against Xheic's. He glanced at the other creatures too, then looked at the cuffs he wore. His gaze slowly returned to the dragon-like creature, looking a little less sure of himself than May would've liked.

Maxxor's growl sounded more like a sigh. "What do you want from me?"

"We don't want anything from you. We're merely traders. We aquire goods, and trade them for whatever we need to survive."

"You're the Outcast Mercenaries." Maxxor said it as a realization, but also as though it were a disgusting taste he needed to spit out of his mouth.

Shathra hissed.

"That's how we're recognized," Xheic agreed.

"You betray your own kinsmen for an offered price."

"We have betrayed no one! They-- including you-- decided to reject us, make us outcasts. We were unwanted by our own kind, and so we fought for our new kind; the betrayed. The abandoned. Us." He gestured towards his companions. "We do what we must to survive. And since we are smaller in number, we are left with fewer options than you. Whatever opportunity is offered for our survival, we take it."

Maxxor grunted. The cuffs were hot around his wrists, and May could see them starting to glow red around the very edges. Maxxor had been trying to get Xheic to talk so he could work his way out of them. But now she could see the shock on his face, just as she saw a grin on Xheic's when Maxxor realized just what made the cuffs special. "So you do whatever benefits you, whether or not it's the right choice," he snapped gruffly, opting to continue the argument.

"Right choice?" Xheic almost laughed at the idea. "We simply try not to make bad choices. And you've gotta admit; survivals not a bad choice."

At this point, Troipen hopped out from the foliage, carrying a huge bundle of water sacks. "Xheic they're all filled, now let's get a-- a..." Troipen noticed that the big green Overworlder who had beaten him to a pulp the day before was awake and sitting up, and he almost dropped all the water sacks.

"The De-Energy cuffs are still in place, Troipen. He can't do anything more than the human could." He turned back meaningfully to Maxxor. "Any attempts to escape or other acts of stupidity will result in the little pink thing becoming a bit more purple."

Kenz rolled her eyes and mumbled something unintelligible, as well as not very nice, likely.

And with that, they were off.

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_That mouth of hers is really gonna get May in trouble someday. At least it seems everyone has established how they feel about each other; no chance of a misunderstanding there! Maxxor thinks the mercs are betrayers, Xheic thinks Maxxor's just a package that will earn them a nice payment. Oh, and he thinks May's an "it"._

_Hee hee, Xheic got tripped by Maxxor. :D_


	4. Chapter 4: Out of the Light

_So, after this chapter it might be a while between updates. This next week or two...or three... is looking slightly crazy. Maybe. Slightly. My schedule is currently in a flux. Don't blame meeee!!_

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**Chapter 4: Out of the Light**

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Maxxor didn't try anything, opting first to observe. He kept a close eye on the surroundings, watched the exchanges between his captors, their habitual movements, the different ways they positioned their weight as they moved.

Shathra was obviously the most intelligent of the group. Even half asleep, she was the first to notice the signs that Overworld scouts were nearby (to Maxxor's relief as well as dismay; they were looking for him, realizing he was late on his return, but they weren't being too careful about it) and found a pattern in their paths, allowing them to evade any possible future encounters. However, she was no leader. She was more a fixture her colleagues had grown accustomed to then someone they actually enjoyed. But even though they obviously were not at ease with her personality, her intelligence coupled with her stealth made her invaluable to everyone.

Hurn was the brute strength, and if not the brightest bulb on the tree, at least he wasn't the dimmest. He was an excellent navigator, never forgetting a place once he'd been there or seen the map of it's layout. With his direction and Shathra's cautions they made good time through the woods, further into the mountains.

Speed was Troipen's ace. He did what he was told and he did it quickly as well as easily, always finding a way to get his assignments done. He was the scout as well as the comic relief, it seemed. Now that he felt more relaxed, he found the humor in any situation easily.

Xheic wasn't very appreciative of that at the moment, however. The serious ex-Overworlder was carrying May, who refused to stop yammering and complaining about anything she could. It seemed she had made it her goal to push the survival-savvy Creature to a point where he would willingly fall to his knees and beg for her to shut up. Or fry her. However, Maxxor couldn't pretend that May's taunts and jabs weren't helping him keep his own spirits up. His jaw almost dropped to the ground in surprise as to how correct her comparison of Xheic to a moose pretending to be a bird was. Troipen had to work hard to keep walking as he laughed, earning himself a slap on the back of the head from Shathra.

Their path was getting steeper, to the point that Maxxor's cuffs were almost draining more energy than he was expending. He wondered when they would at last come off, and if they might have any prolonged effects. He acted the part of the injured captive, trying to slow the group's progress. They were seeing less and less signs of scouts, and Maxxor was concerned no one would notice their trail in time. He moved as laboriously as he dared, until Xheic growled and told him to stop trying to slow them down. The giant sped up from the group, taking May with him, and not exactly leaving a promise of keeping her safe. By the time Maxxor had pulled the rest of the group fast enough to catch up, May was stumbling out of a small pond, dripping wet and gasping for air, and Xheic sat on a nearby stump, clearly enjoying himself.

"You've just missed all the fun," he informed them. "We were having a discussion about what pond scum looks like when we happened upon this convenient pond, and the little human volunteered to see for itself. But it seems those cuffs are a bit heavy for swimming, otherwise we might have a sample. Oh, my mistake," he said picking up the shivering girl by the neck of her shirt, "here's one."

Maxxor fought hard the rest of the afternoon not to let his anger loose, as well as to keep whatever pace Xheic set. The others were beginning to tire, but none so much as him. May only made occasional comments now, each punctuated with a vibrato by the fact that she never completely dried off. Shathra was in a terrible mood and almost fell asleep at various points. Hurn offered to let her ride on his back, but her pride obviously didn't allow her to. Finally, after they had peaked to mountain and traveled a short way down the other side, Xheic and Hurn worked together to move a large boulder, revealing a cavern. It was headed, after the first large room, steeply downwards. And it was marked with the seal of the Underworld.

_"Chaor,"_Maxxor thought. If they were headed into an Underworld tunnel, odds were that was who had hired the mercenaries. This didn't seem quite his style, paying for capture, but if there was anyone who would want Maxxor it was the ruler of the Underworld. Not to say that every other creature in the Underworld didn't despise Maxxor as well.

Xheic looked at Maxxor as they stepped inside, studying his tired face. Troipen opened his pack and pulled out several torches, lighting them before Hurn and Xheic put the boulder back into place. Xheic shook his head. "If you think you know who we're working for, we'd be delighted to know your thoughts on the matter."

"You... don't know?" Maxxor was suspicious of that, and feeling much more uptight with the boulder in his way of freedom. This revelation swayed his idea of Chaor being behind the capture; the Underworlder relied quite a bit on face-to-face fear, and wouldn't have left out that bit of encouragement in hiring a group of independents.

"We were contacted anonymously, given supplies, and asked to do a job. When we agreed, we received various tools for doing so. It was all by written letter." He nodded at Troipen who narrowed his eyes, then shrugged and pulled a slip of paper out of his bag, showing it to Maxxor. "Have you seen this insignia before?"

"...No."

"Answer truthfully," Xheic warned, quickly squeezing a small gasp out of May, who looked very irritated.

"I have never seen this before, or anything like it."

It was true; the small square design looked mechanical but was no machine he knew of. Troipen huffed and flipped it around, stuffing the small piece of paper back into the sack. No one but Maxxor noticed the small tense May's muscles made, or how her face drained white in the flicker of recognition the moment if flew past her eyes. Xheic growled.

"Think about it tonight, Overworlder. We may be meeting them soon. Shathra," Xheic added to the ex-Underworlder, who grumbled and skittered over to Maxxor. Pulling the webbing from her fingertips, she began to bind Maxxor's legs to the cavern floor. Maxxor resisted the urge to swat her away. Hearing a chuckle from Troipen, he looked up to see that May had gone pasty white. She was staring at the webbing that now covered his feet and ankles, terrified. Was May scared? Shathra scared her? Or the webbing itself? Maxxor tried to catch her eye and give her courage, and she tried to hide her fear, but Maxxor and Troipen hadn't been the only ones to notice. Xheic spoke after the webs had only gotten halfway up Maxxor's calves.

"That's good enough, come web the other one. He can't leave without the human, or it'd die. But if we lose it, there's no reason for him not to try and escape." Shathra rolled her eyes, mumbled something about how Xheic shouldn't be bitter just because he did look like a moose trying to be a bird, webbed Maxxor's cuffs to the wall behind him, and crawled over to May. She might not have approved of leaving Maxxor tied so loosely, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy webbing up the chatterbox that had been annoying her all day. She was even more delighted when she at last realized her power over the girl.

May was completely pale, and trying very hard to keep her breathing even. She kept mumbling little things to herself that no one else could hear, making little noises sometimes that Maxxor couldn't tell if they were suppressed cries or laughs. Shathra began to hum to herself, a noise made worse by the fact that she had no concept of pitch and that it was a song meant to scare youngsters around a campfire.

"Xheic..." Maxxor said testily, warning the Creature that he was allowing this to push him too far.

Shathra finished May's legs and went to her upper arms. The laughing/crying noises May had been making got louder, and she began speaking slightly more coherently. "Oooh of course, ha huh... and it's touching my arm, that's ok... it doesn't hurt, it doesn't--" Shivers seemed to halt her words for half a moment, and Shathra used two more legs to hold her in place, still humming. May's noises turned into cries mixed into words, no more laughter, as the sticky fingers turned towards her face.

"Xheic!!" Maxxor barked at the Mercenary leader again, the cuffs on his hands growing red-hot.

Xheic ignored him. Shathra finished by placing a seal over May's mouth, then ran her web-covered fingers across the young woman's hair. "Goodnight my little human. I'll be waiting for you in the morning."

May refused to look at her, determinedly directing her eyes toward an empty space on the cavern wall. Shathra grabbed her chin for a moment, then dropped it as though realizing she didn't care and scurried off to a dark corner, where she very happily collapsed and promptly fell asleep.

Troipen laughed. "Out like a baby. And the human probably won't sleep all night." He then disappeared into a corner of his own, where he also fell asleep almost immediately. Hurn was already asleep, having decided he didn't like listening to May being tortured.

Xheic turned to Maxxor, who returned the glare with a fury. "We still have another day ahead of us," he warned his captive. Then he glanced at the human on the ground, who was hyperventilating and trying not to jerk her head from side to side, staring into shadows that seemed to creep towards her. "Why you're making this so easy for us, I don't understand. What could she have possibly done that you would allow all this to have happened? What is it you're not telling us, Overworlder?"

"You call me that like you weren't born one as well," was all Maxxor would say, boring his gaze into Xheic's eyes.

Xheic narrowed his eyes and gave no reply. Then he put out the last torch and settled into place in front of the tunnel leading downward, leaving May and Maxxor in the dark.

* * *

_Sorry, Chaor lovers! I know there's a bunch of you, but he won't be appearing. Not for quite a while, actually. Like, book two-ish. Unless my story plans change, which they quite often do. My stories like to take over and claim my writer powers!! *gasp* ...We have a love/hate realtionship._

_Hey, check it out! May's not unconscious! Just in a nearly comotose state of fear!_


	5. Chapter 5: A Few Surprises

_Holy cow, I'm alive! Bet you didn't think I was, huh? Thought I'd never come back, huh? Well, you were wrong! 'Cause HERE I AM!_

_Thanks to everyone who's encouraged me to keep working on my stuff! I've been away for a long time, but since I came back and saw that people still wanted me to finish my stories (why, I'm not quite sure... do you realize what you've done? Unleashing the CRAZY! Meh. Maybe you do.) I've been working on revamping them. So, here we go! Watch for another chapter of my other story, Chaotic Friday, as well! Coming soon!_

_I need a lemonade. No... a limeade. No... a **mango**ade._

* * *

**Chapter 5: A Few Surprises**

* * *

Maxxor waited for another half hour before shifting his muscles.

He had been sitting just right to assure the threads would be loose around him, and now he was able to ease his way out of them, slowly. After about twenty minutes he crept over to where May lay. She had begun to regain control of herself agin, and was struggling against the webs. Something about seeing her so debilitated made him more than just vengeful; it truly upset him, as though someone had done him a very personal wrong. Why he felt that way he wasn't sure, and Xheic's question was making him wonder a bit more; why did he care so much about her? He would do the same for others, surely, but there was something about this girl... He shook off the feeling. It was not something to ponder too deeply.

Maxxor mouthed to her that she would be fine. The webbing still covered her mouth, so she simply nodded to him, showing she really did have her fear just about under reasonable control.

He began to tear at the binding, but it was much tighter than his had been. Ten minutes past and Maxxor paused to examine his work. He had only gotten a third of the way down her arms, and his cuffs were begining to burn.

This was taking far too long.

May was trying to convey something. Maxxor could see she had an idea, but was still too shook up to control her voice well. She nodded her head towards her hands. Her palms were sweaty and her fingers curled in fists, and the cuffs around them still held that strange glow of collecting energy. She lifted her hands.

The webs under them had begun to melt away!

Maxxor placed his own cuffs along the webbing, and since they had already begun to heat, it began to melt apart. Soon the webbing was gone, and May was able to raise her cuffs to her lips and free them as well. She took a few deep breaths and shivered once, ten looked up at Maxxor.

"_OK," _she mouthed, "_What's the plan now?"_

He shrugged in return, looking at the entrance now covered by the rock. She rolled her eyes. No plan. Well, that wasn't much different than the rest of this little adventure. Then she remembered something. "Maxxor," she whispered, then went back to mouthing. "_I recognize the seal."_

He turned all his attention back to her and nodded "_I noticed. Who is it?"_

"_It's a human. From Chaotic. His name is the Collector."_

Maxxor stared at her in shock for a moment, controlling the rage that built up inside his chest. A human? A human was putting him through this? "All of this-" he whispered, then regained more composure, "_All of this is for a scan?" _How many humans had come to him looking for scans? How many had he granted?

May looked at his angry expression. "_Knowing him... I wish he only wanted a scan. He doesn't even have a scanner! It's thought that he gets back ad forth from Chaotic to Perim using his own inventions instead." _She looked truly worried, and Maxxor wondered how worried he should be. "_He was one of the founders of Chaotic, but he went crazy. He wanted to Code Masters to take complete control of Perim."_

"_Then he wants me as a bargaining tool."_

"_No...no, I wish he did. I wish he cared anymore. Maxxor... he wants-_LOOK OUT!" May's eyes went wide and Maxxor reacted immediately by ducking and rolling to turn and face the threat, but Xheic's arm whipped right past him and instead snatched up May.

"I would have been concerned if you hadn't tried something tonight," he said as he once again retreated to block the entrance leading further down. "But, we can't put up with bad behavior. Troipen!" he called. The other mercenaries had just woken up, ready to jump into the action, and the ex-Mipedian came forward. "If you could. Remind our royalty how much titles mean around here."

Troipen grinned. He'd been waiting for this. The first punch to Maxxor's jaw was blocked by the Overworlder, but as he prepared to continue the fight, he heard May restrain a cry. A cut ran down her arm, scratched by one of Xheic's claws, and the message was clear: Don't even try it. It was hard to resist blocking the next blow that came, but Maxxor kept his hands down as Troipen's tail whipped into his ribs.

May was appalled as she watched him take the hits. "What are you doing? It's just a scratch, fight back! Don't- oh-" She cringed as a particularly savage blow threw Maxxor against the cave wall. "No, no, stop it! Maxxor, please, don't-" she bit her lips as he got on his feet once again, ready to take the next hit. And he did. And the next. And the next.

Till at last, Xheic told Troipen it was enough. Troipen took a few deep breaths and wiped the blood on his tail against the rock wall. Maxxor didn't stand back up as he previously had. As soon as Zheic set May back on the ground, she ran to his side.

"We can all sleep now," Xheic announced. "I don't think we'll have any more midnight uprisings." Shathra huffed and settled back into her corner, and Hurn sat back into his as well. Troipen gave one last satisfied look at the strange pair as he wiped the leftover blood on his shirt, then returned to his spot as well. Xheic was already settled back in his place before the tunnel, and watched as May ripped bits off the bottom of her jacket to try and stem the bleeding, till he was satisfied enough to allow himself to sleep once again.

It was quiet for a while, till once again Troipen and Hurn's snores filled the cavern. May was absorbed in her efforts. Then Maxxor winced as she touched the wound on his chest, and grabbed her hand, suddenly aware of the time that had passed.

"You should sleep."

She shook her head. "I need to help you. Is that rib broken?"

"Likely." He didn't tell he there was another on the other side that was probably fractured.

She looked angry for a moment. "And your temple's bruised bad, and you've lost a lot of blood, and you're a captive, broken and battered because of me-"

He squeezed her hand, and looked intensely into her eyes. She looked back, and saw the fire in them, untamed and determined. "No," he stated. "I am far from broken."

The fire sparked something inside her, and a question formed. "Why didn't you just fight back?"

He raised one eyebrow confusedly. Surely she knew the answer to that. "Because it would have been worse for both of us if I did. It would have been you injured as well as me, and my "reprimand" would have lasted longer."

"No, not just now. Before. All the way here. You could have escaped, run off, made it far enough for the scouts to find you. We both know you could have."

Now he understood. "Because I made you a deal. And I keep my promises. If I had left, Xheic would have seen your life as nothing, and you would be gone."

"But is that really worth it to you? You understand how things work for humans. For Chaotic players. Players are only a shadow of themselves, just a code of who they really are. For players, this isn't real life. It's not the same stakes. And as much as a player might care about what happens here, it can't ever be the same thing."

There was a strange, unpleasant feeling in Maxxor's chest as she said this, deeper than the breaks along his ribs. It was a feeling he couldn't quite place. He was quiet for just a moment, then looked at her again. "That does not matter. A life is a life, and I made a promise. Your life means more to me than a simple code. I refuse to believe it's that simple."

They stayed that way for just a moment, May realizing what she needed to do. What perhaps she should have done before, but wasn't sure if she could. She needed to tell Maxxor the truth. Well... most of it.

"I... I need to tell you more. About me. About what I'm really doing here."

Maxxor waited, his guard suddenly up a bit more than before she'd spoken.

"First off...I know I said I lost my scanner, but we weren't exactly gonna find it anytime soon. ... I don't have one either."

* * *

_Whaaaaat? She doesn't what? That sounds strangely similar to someone else she just described... it's like there's some kind of connection, or even darker secret there! Hmm... Is May what she seems to be?_

_Duh. No, she's not._


	6. Chapter 6: Life As She Knows It

_Are you ready for some awesome action, folks? Well, too bad. This is pretty much all talking. In fact, it's not even talking. It's Maxxor, remembering what he and May just talked about. Aren't you so thrilled to delve into it now? Can't you hear it calling your name?_

_Just read it. Trust me. It's like that episode of your favorite TV show that if you miss, the next week you're going, "What the heck happened? Why is Jimmy a zombie? And why is Frank in love with Carla?"_

_Besides... it might not be _that_ bad. It might even taste like awesomeness._

* * *

**Chapter 6: Life As She Knows It**

* * *

Maxxor opened his eyes after a dreamless and almost sleepless night. The events of the past few days began replaying themselves in his mind, and as he reviewed each strange encounter after unusual circumstance after impossible moment, he still was certain that the things May had told him in the past hours were the most shocking to him.

There was the information she shared about their captors' employer, the Collector. A human who came to Perim as well as the land of Chaotic by means of his own, rather than having to rely on a scanner as other humans did. Because he did not use a scanner, however, he was not simply "code", or a shadow of himself projected into Perim. When he entered a reality, it was his entire being that followed, no trace left behind.

The details she gave on his past were rushed and vague at some points, but he understood that the Collector had been there as Chaotic was being built, and that his vision hadn't followed the same course as the other founders. He and a few others decided they would leave the rest and work to bring to pass what they believed was the right use of the new world they had discovered: Some saw potential power. Some saw money.

The Collector saw entertainment.

He watched the creatures battle and was reminded of his own world's ancient gladiators, with more danger, intrigue, and energy than those humans could have ever had, he believed. This world was full of the creatures, and they seemed almost anxious for a reason to go head-to-head with one another. It was as though they were bred for an arena, begging for it. They were made to be controlled by him, for their battles to be performed for him. But as the other founders took his idea and destroyed it, creating dromes for shadows of the creatures to act, controlled by shadows of people, he was appalled. They had taken the very beauty of the thing and turned it into a cheap prize. His vision had been twisted into frivolity! And he wouldn't stand for it.

Before he left, he embedded several secrets into the formation of Chaotic to accommodate his vision and his goals, and hid them deep enough that they were never realized by those he left. When he at last did leave, his first act was to create the device that allowed him to step into Perim wholey. Then, he began the dangerous mission of creating his dream of staging his own personal creature battles. And to have that, he needed creatures.

So... he started collecting.

Which brought Maxxor to their current predicament. May told him there had been rumors that someday, the Collector's goal was to capture the leaders of the different tribes. Obviously, he thought the Overworld the best place to start. Thus, Maxxor lay trapped in a cave, a captive, prepared to be presented to a human for a handsome price.

That information had shocked and angered Maxxor for many different reasons, but the story that May had set as a prelude to it was just as shocking to him. She had told him that she, like the Collector, had no scanner. She was no regular Chaotic player; in fact, she wasn't a player at all.

Her story was more vaguely told than the Collector's. Years ago, she had woken up on a little bed in a little room, sounds of beeping around her and a strange, sterilized smell in the air. A man who somehow seemed familiar came in and held her hand, saying something to her. The next time she woke up, she was lying on a bigger bed in a much bigger room, and the man was nearby to explain everything to her. He was her uncle; she and her parents had been in an accident, and only she survived. The only memories she could find, from anything prior to these instances with her uncle, were images of two horrific bodies, the scene feeling scarred into her brain. So she was only sure of two things: Her parents, whoever they might have been, were dead. And her uncle was all she had left.

Eventually, as she recovered, he told her more about where she was. They were in a world called Perim, far from home, and their purpose here was to test the strange native life for the secrets behind the incredible abilities they held. She didn't realize for a very long time that there might be a reason the specimens her uncle brought home were either already dead or very close to it by the time she was ordered to assist him in his "tests". It was easier to believe what he said: "These are wild and ferocious beasts, May. They have no logic in their little brains, and no mercy or pity. If you were injured by them in some freak accident, I don't know what I'd do. So until I tell you to come in, _stay out._"

Something, she hadn't explained to Maxxor what, finally made her realize the truth: The creatures her uncle had been experimenting on were far from mindless. The stories her uncle and his occasional visitors told her about the brave rebels secretly fighting the Code Masters was very twisted from truth. And he hadn't been completely honest about caring about her well-being.

She'd run off and started her own life. The world was strange, and she learned a lot very quickly. Most of her information she'd gained from talking with players she met, but it wasn't until nearly two months of being on her own that she finally felt brave enough to approach a creature. It had now been a total of five months since that day she'd left her uncle.

All she revealed about the cuffs on her wrists was that she had been exploring in the Underworld and recognized them as something one of her uncle's friends had been working on. He carried a set of keys with him that could open them, and practically nothing else could. But there was a cave she'd heard him mention where he kept extra supplies in case of emergencies, and there was a very good chance he would have a set there. The direction she'd asked Maxxor to take her in had been toward that cave, and he could have whatever was there when they arrived, as a nice surprise "thank you".

The cave, and the cuffs, belonged to the Collector, one of her uncle's most frequent visitors. Before she had left, however, she hadn't seen him in a long time, and had assumed he was simply living out his days watching his pets battle, cozy in his home secreted in the strange realm called Chaotic. Turns out, she was wrong.

These things kept turning in Maxxor's mind; the creatures taken captive, the secret league of human enemies, this human next to him who was completely here and currently a wanderer, and the many things she had seen. And though she hadn't said it, Maxxor saw the fear in her eyes of what this situation now meant for her: the Collector knew her uncle. Her freedom was now cut short, and who knew what her actions would mean for her future?

And there was one other question that he just couldn't shake. May had told him in a roundabout way what her uncle's goals had been, but wouldn't come right out and say it. And as she told the story her fingertips had reached subconsciously towards the underside of her elbow, where Maxxor noticed scars like large pinpricks. And his question, though he had already asked it, still wouldn't leave him: Just what had been her role in "assisting" her uncle's research?

She'd given him an answer, which also shocked him. But he felt there was more to her story and her answer that she wasn't quite willing to share.

Now she lay asleep, her chest slowly rising and falling as her head rested against his arm. Such a strange human, with so many secrets... if- no, when they got out of this, he would have to keep her close by, for her protection as well as to learn what other secrets she knew.

Even as he thought this, he second guessed whether or not that would be a good idea. Why? There was no reason for this human to be denied protection. And her knowledge could prove to be vital in protecting his realm. That was his motivation, he told himself.

As he struggled with the inner argument (over what, he wasn't quite sure) he heard Xheic speak from where the mercenaries sat, eating a small breakfast. "Here," the creature said, tossing a bit of jerky over to him, "Eat. And wake your precious little pet and make it eat, too." Maxxor reminded himself to hold his tongue for now, and carefully moved his arm, picking up the strip of dried meat as well as jostling May a bit.

She woke suddenly, looking wide-eyed. "May," Maxxor said, calling her attention. She snapped her head towards him, but it was a moment before the confusion and fear in her eyes cleared away.

"Oh.. oh geez... sorry. Bad dream." She looked around. "Not that this is much better."

He smirked just a bit in agreement and handed her part of the jerky, wincing a bit from the pressure the action put on his ribs. "Breakfast."

She took it with a sad look on her face in response to his wince. "Then we start moving again, huh?"

He nodded, reviewing the plan they had made after she had shared with him the results of her pinprick scars. "Then we move."

* * *

_Ooooh... pinpricks? Evil uncles? REALITY? ...I think that last one scares me the most, in my personal everyday life. How _does_ she handle it? Bravo, sister. Bravo._


	7. Chapter 7: Down and Out

_Wow, it's like I came back from the grave recently and fell into a mad writing fever instead of a zombie fever! It's like I crave cheeseburgers and chocolate truffles and chocolate milk, and the only way to make them spontaneously appear on my table is by posting chapters! Or it's like I can't sleep at night lately and so I just stay up writing and writing and writing and writing!_

_Two of these might be true. The other I'm not so sure about. I think it's a lie. I'll get back to you on that._

_There's more action in this chapter! Not hard to get more than last chapter, I know, but there is!_

* * *

**Chapter 7: Down and Out**

* * *

These tunnels were more than dark; it felt as though the darkness were a living thing, pressing on their bodies as they traveled further into its home. It was a like liquid that surrounded them, yearning to suffocate them.

There was once they stopped by a small spring. Maxxor had fallen once on the way, and at the little pool he fell shakily to his knees again to drink from the water. May had been talking less than she normally would have, partially due to the sense of doom that seemed infused with these tunnels and partially because she didn't want to push it too far and cause Maxxor to get in even worse condition. Xheic had been carrying her as before, but set her down by the pool and ordered her to drink as well, and she said something about bringing a moose-bird to water but not being able to make him drink as she obeyed, earning her a growl from the tall creature.

She took the chance to see how bad Maxxor looked, though in the dim light of the torches they brought, she could hardly see anything. There was a bruise on his temple that had grown since last night, and he positioned his weight away from his left leg, being gentle with the ankle. And the slash down his arm looked like it might be infected. There was a cut over his left eye, and he was still very careful not to put pressure against his ribs. And those were just the injuries she could make out, other than a few other smaller cuts. Creatures might be able to take more punishment than humans, and Maxxor of all creatures could handle a few battle wounds, but everyone has a limit. May wondered nervously just where Maxxor's limit was, and just how far past her own it might be.

He gave a small grin as he noticed her observing him, and nodded his head to assure her that he would be fine. She smiled and tried to convince her heart to believe him. Then Xheic snatched her up and they were on the move again.

Hurn sang a Danian song in a deep voice that seemed to fit the atmosphere they were in. Even May fell silent as they walked to listen. Afterwards she asked him what it meant.

"I'd rather not explain it," Hurn told her.

As May stated to protest, Shathra hissed. "He means you don't want to know, little one." Troipen added, "Nice tune though, when you get past the extreme depression of it." Xheic told them all to be quiet, and requested another song from Hurn, something a bit less dreary. Halfway through the song, May realized Xheic had requested it because it kept her quiet, so she started talking again.

Just as Xheic thought he'd snap and toss her against a wall, and just as Maxxor thought he might fall again, they rounded a corner into a great cavern. Troipen pulled out the note and glanced at it.

"This is it," he said, walking towards a far corner. "There should be a door right over... Here, somewhere... Hurn, bring the other torch..." The two looked for a minute, then Shathra sighed and scurried over towards them, the mercenaries temporarily absorbed in the task of discovering their alternate escape. May took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to do. She looked back to the entrance of the tunnel, behind Xheic, where Maxxor supported himself against the wall. He nodded to her. This was their last chance. It was now or never.

Xheic was startled as the little human in his hand cried out, and he felt a distinct snap from her rib cage (he hadn't been holding her that tightly, had he?) but was even more shocked as something slammed into him from behind.

He nearly did a complete somersault, twisting to see his assailant and realizing with shock that it was Maxxor. He didn't have the strength to do that! He couldn't! He could barely walk, and Xheic knew that hadn't been an act, because he'd witnessed Maxxor gain his injuries only last night! What sort of trick was this?

Xheic tossed the human across the cavern as the other Mercenaries came to his aid, and Maxxor roared as he did, attacking Xheic once again before the other mercs reached them. A hard double-fist to the gut threw the giant back, and the fight ensued.

May, who landed on the floor with a shallow gasp of pain, was overwhelmed. The conversation of the night before flashed through her mind and she recalled Maxxor's disbelief when she had explained her uncle's experiments. His whole goal had been to take the spectacular abilities of Creatures and allow humans to experience them as well, in a much more real way than the drome battles that the Collector was always ranting about.

One day, she had gotten sick, and he told her it was a deadly disease of Perim, one that he had seen occasionally in Creatures. He convinced her that he could cure her of it, and she allowed him to extend his tests to her. She got better, (of course she did; she found out later the disease itself was a hoax so she would allow her uncle to treat her as a lab rat) and she got something else too: an ability her uncle had been working on. The ability to transfer the damage from another creature to herself.

As angry as Maxxor was for the toss against the cavern wall Xheic had administered to May, he didn't have a moment to worry about her; Troipen was attacking. Shathra and Hurn followed his lead, coming close behind. Dodging the attack he sent, Maxxor met Troipen with a thump to the side of the head, knocking the lizard to the cavern wall, where he fell motionless to the floor. Shrathra leapt at him, Maxxor ducking and rising just in time to let her fly past him, evade Hurn's blow, and return a blow to his jaw. Shathra smashed into Xheic, while Hurn reeled back a few steps, recovering quickly enough to fake a punch to Maxxor's head while knocking his feet out from under him. Maxxor crashed to the ground, rolling to avoid Shathra, who had recovered and launched herself at him. Her teeth ripped through the air, dripping toxin. Suddenly, Hurn and Shathra were on either side of him, charging. Maxxor jumped, expecting another ill-orchestrated attack where they would collide one with another, but deftly they slid right past each other—

And Xheic pounced on Maxxor from behind, driving him to the ground with a loud '_BAM.'_ "Shathra!" he called. And just before Maxxor managed to get Xheic off him, Shathra was over his head, her mouth wide open—

Her teeth sank in just under his jaw. A surge of adrenaline shot through his body too late. He kicked Xheic off him, who was looking relieved and not making much of an attempt to hold him down anymore. He stood, heart racing, blinking the sudden fuzziness out of his eyes, and turned towards May, who lay near the far wall. She was struggling with the injuries she had taken from him, and now it seemed she had taken them for nothing. Roaring, not willing to accept that it was over, he stumbled towards her. And fell.

His world turned black.

"…That was…odd." Xheic walked over to Maxxor, looking carefully at the supposed-cripple who had attacked him. Then he noticed something; no bruise on his head, no cuts on his body, aside from Shathra's teeth marks. It was as though…

Bruise. On his head. Something clicked. Xheic looked over at the human, who was struggling to regain her breath, a dark purple mark staining her forehead. That snap he'd felt…

No. He was going crazy, in this darkness. The job was done. They had to get out.

"Hurn," he ordered, "Grab Troipen, let's get out of here."

"Uh…what about the door?"

"It doesn't matter; it's time to go. We'll go back out through the tunnel and meet our employer in the appointed place for final payment in two days." Shathra hissed; this meant more daytime travel. Xheic didn't snap back, but that was all the sympathy she received. Things were what they were. "I'm anxious to hear about this referral to another job he mentioned in the note. As for this job, we're done."

"Are we just going to leave the girl here?" Shathra gestured to the human, who was trying to crawl her way over to Maxxor, still trying to breath correctly as she went… Xheic shook himself again.

"Yes. We can't deal with it now, and our employers can decide what her fate is. Leave the broken pet with its broken master," Xheic said, watching as May struggled to inch her way towards the fallen Ruler of the Overworld.

They were all through the door quickly, Xheic being sure to bring up the rear. He stared at the girl before he walked back into the cavern, his mind trying to piece it all together coherently…then stopped himself. He didn't want to know.

"If I ever see you again…it'll be too soon, human girl," he muttered, not sure if he meant it or not. Then the dragon disappeared around the corner, taking the last of the torches and the light with him.

* * *

_Dun dun duuuuuuuuhn! And you thought they were going to get away, didn't you? Give me a shout-out if you guessed May's uncle did something like this to her!_

_That's the last of the Mercenaries we see for a long time. But don't worry... a few familiar faces will take their spots._

_Oh, and to get back to you on whether or not that was a lie: I think not. It is in fact a true truth. Sleep is _not_ my friend._


End file.
